“Moscow officially does not recognize the purchase of ammunition from the DPRK, but after reports on the supply of North Korean shells the complaints of the Russian military on the lack of this type of weapons stopped”, – WRITE: www.radiosvoboda.org
Moscow does not formally recognize the purchase of ammunition from the DPRK, but after reports on the supply of North Korean shells, the Russian military complaints about the lack of this type of weapons have stopped.
According to Washington Post, from August 2023 to January 2024, North Korea could send about 1.6 million artillery shells to Russia. The head of military intelligence of Ukraine Kirill Budanov states that up to half of Russian large -caliber ammunition is now of North Korean origin.
According to 38 North, about 20 DPRK plants can participate in the production of weapons for Russia. Among the main suppliers are three enterprises: plant № 125 in Pyongyang, Tessonian machine -building plant and plant № 26 in the province of Chagando.
Plant # 125 is one of the largest ammunition enterprises in the country. Its accurate location is unknown, but South Korean intelligence binds it to the industrial zone in the northwest of Pyongyang. From 2021 to 2025 the area of construction of this territory increased almost 2.5 times – from 2.5 to 6 square kilometers.
The Tesonian machine -building plant specializes in the production of medium action missiles. Some of its capacity is located in underground tunnels. The analysis of satellite images shows that in 2023–2024 the company was upgraded: building materials appeared near the entrances in the tunnel, and some land buildings were dismantled.
Plant # 26 in Chagando is also partially located underground, which complicates its scope. Satellite images in March 2025 do not record significant changes on the surface.
In addition, with an increase in military supplies to Russia, the active expansion of the tractor plant of the Kumsong Tractor Plant in the Kango, where they produce transport installations for cruise missiles. The area of its construction from 2021 to 2025 has tripled.
The growth of the DPRK’s military industry is also confirmed by the data on the modernization of the Hamkhin on February 11 in February 11, which produces Makon-11 missiles.
Experts say that North Korea is one of the world leaders in the production of artillery and ammunition. According to the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technology (CAS), there are 8 to 10 thousand artillery units in service with the country. For comparison, before the war, Russia had 14-18 thousand units of such weapons.
Military analysts emphasize that the North Korean systems are capable of competing with Western counterparts. In particular, the KOKSAN 170mm installations can affect the whole at a distance of up to 60 kilometers. The DPRK also contains KN-09 volley fire systems with a range of 220 kilometers and KN-25ic 600 millimeters caliber-this is much more than in Russian “tornado” and “tornado-C” (220 millimeters).
According to experts, North Korea is betting on the development of artillery because of its geographical location: the capital of South Korea Seoul is located just 24 kilometers from the demarcation line, the actual border between the two countries, which makes the city vulnerable to artillery blows.